Five for Friday

Only 1 more Friday, and then I'm back to work. Honestly, I'm a little excited to get back into the classroom and meet my new group of kiddos. Here is my first Five for Friday with Doodle Bugs Teaching. 

Last week I flew out to Vegas, but not for the Staff Development for Educators or Teachers Pay Teacher Conference. After having an amazing time at the SDE Differentiated Instruction conference last year, there was a definite urge to hightail it to the Palazzo and Venetian to soak in some knowledge. Instead, I took a trip with a good friend to some national parks - Zion and Bryce. No regrets on missing the conferences, because this girl loves a national park!

 I'm trying to engage in more social media outlets as it relates to teaching, so I've decided to participate in the #BlogHoppin2015 Scavenger Hunt on Instagram.

Check out my Instagram account -  @learningwithlockwood!

 I am connecting with my teaching tribes - Third Grade Tribe and Georgia Teacher Tribe. It is a little overwhelming trying to manage all of the social media avenues, but I really love being able to connect with others.

According to the boarding pass that I used as bookmark, I started reading The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan back in 2012. It was an engaging read when I first started it, so I'm not sure what happened. I picked it back up this week, and I am determined to finish it before school starts.

Last night, I went out to dinner with some of my friends who are very near and dear to my heart. It was much needed. I'm so thankful to be surrounded by such wonderful people. We didn't capture any pictures from the evening because we were too busy enjoying each other's company. 

TPT Seller Challenge - Week 3: Make Your Masterpiece

I was excited about this week's challenge, Make Your Masterpiece, because it gave me the much-needed motivation to work on items that I have already created and make them ready to sell on Teachers Pay Teachers. So I got on this right away and had the pleasure of collaborating with Mandi from Spellbound in Second. The task was to create and/or finish a product to post. Afterwards, you had to swap your product with another TpT Challenge Member to revise and edit. 

I chose to make my Classroom Scavenger Hunt TPT-ready. Each year before school starts, we have Sneak Peek. The students and parents checkout the classroom and school, drop off supplies, and visit with the teacher. We are asked by admin to have an activity on hand for students to complete. A few years ago, I created the first version of the scavenger hunt, and it has been a huge hit with the kiddos since then. This activity asks students to venture around the classroom to look for particular items, like the classroom library and seatmates. At the end, they are asked to write a letter to the teacher. The letters are so entertaining!

If you are interested in using it with your own students, check it out in my TPT store. 

It is definitely nice to have another pair of eyes to review your work, especially if you leave words out like I do. Mandi was super helpful, and I loved looking over her product - Super Second Grader Activity Pack. It is a superhero-themed pack with beginning of the year activities that focus on getting to the know the students, setting goals, and following classroom expectations. She even made a pack for 3rd graders.

In other news, I finally created an Instagram account for my blog and store. Follow me - @learningwithlockwood!

Thanks to Third in Hollywood, TeachCreateMotivate, Peppy Zesty Teacherista, and Sparkling in Second for hosting the TPT Seller Challenge.